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On one hand, it makes sense, because of the way the veil works with humans.

On the other, ghosts are very different from humans and I think they could probably just float right through it. Remember, ghosts chose to stay behind because when they died, they weren't ready to pass on.

Unfortunately, we don't really know anything about the veil, but this is the world of fanfiction, so I think you're safe to do whatever you see fit.

Well, with the way that JKR has talked about ghosts in the books, I'd say that they can NOT 'move on' into the world of the dead.

The way I see it is that, when a wizard/witch dies, they're subconsciously presented with a choice:

a) Move on into the 'afterlife'
b) Go back as a ghost.

I think the choice is a permanent one, that if you choose to go back as a ghost because you 'were afraid of death' - which is precisely what Nick says to Harry at the end of OotP - then you can't change your mind later and think, "Oh, I want to really be dead now" and be able to 'move on'.

My main bit of support for this is just what Nick is saying to Harry in OotP. He tells Harry that he sometimes wonders if he made the wrong choice to stay on earth, if it would not have been better for him to really move on into the afterlife.

That makes it look like the choice is a pretty permanent one, and that they can't just float through the veil like Sirius did to 'die'.

I don't think a ghost can just decide to move on, though I'm not sure I agree that once they become ghosts, they are doomed to haunt the earth forever.

The Veil is a special sort of artifact, so if anything would allow a ghost to move on, it would be that. I'd be inclined to say that yes, a ghost who passes through can't return, any more than a living person can. But there's no canon for it one way or the other.

I disagree with the idea that ghosts have to stay on the earth for a LONG time. I think it's
all about how ready they are to pass on.

This idea occurred to me one day out of the day, and i have been puzzled about ever since. I kinda thought that if a ghost flew threw the veil, he would have to move on, with no chance of staying on the earth. I don't think that a ghost would be able to just float through the arch, but that is just my opinion. Maybe the veil would have different effects on a ghost? maybe it would force them to think about all their loved ones who passed on to the other side?

Hmm, I've had an idea, but I'm not really sure about what I think of it...

Ghosts are 'in between' life and death - they're not living, but they're not truly dead. I think that it would be possibly for a ghost to pass through the veil, but they would have to return. In other words, eventually something will force them out. Then after a time they could visit the world beyond the veil again? Argh, I suppose it all really depends on what 'the world beyond the veil' really is. I just have trouble thinking of a ghost not being able to go into the archway at all, though. I mean, the veil is something otherworldly in its entirety. Why would death change the fact that it *seems* to be a gateway into the next life. But then again, we are only assuming that it is a gateway to the next life - unless JKR has stated something in an interview - it could just teleport the person that steps through it to the other side of the world and then erase their memory, and possibly their magical ability. Remember, Sirius could have been killed by Bellatrix's curse, not the veil itself, so his body could just have been transported to America, or something.

I think everyone assumed that it was the 'veil of the dead' because of the whispering Luna and Harry heard. There's nothing to actually directly prove what the veil is. It's just one of the many mysteries written by JKR.

Well, that was a post full of babble... I just wouldn't underestimate -or overestimate- what the veil is.

Azhure, we basicly know that the veil is the "doorway to the next life". JKR didn't invent this, it's been in ledgends for hundreds of years.

I know, I believe that it is the 'doorway to the next life'. I was just stating from all POVs; I am answering a question, after all, and I'm being open-minded. Not that you weren't. Argh, that sounds a lot meaner than I want it to be. I'm not being rude, promise.